The best part of being in control of your garden is choosing plants that bring color and life at every stage of the growing season. Your garden can be a brilliant display all through the year, with carefully selected perennials that share their delightful blooms with us at different times. With a good cycle of your favorite perennial blooms, your garden can treat you and all of your favorite local pollinators and birds to something new and wonderful every month.
Perennials are the ideal choice in Carolina to offer reliable color and life that you can depend on year after year. Once you find your favorite perennial blooms, you’ll be delighted to see them shine in your garden with every growing season, instead of popular annuals that give you one spectacular year of color before needing to be replaced. Where annuals are perfect for experimenting and trying temporary new things, perennials are a dependable source of color and excitement for your garden— and they don’t skimp on style, either.
Your perennials often can’t bloom for the whole season, so staggering your choices to offer color that is in its prime at any time of the year is ideal. Mix in some spring, summer, and fall bloomers to have something lovely in your garden at all times. For a little consistency, and the ability to hang on to the blooms you fall in love with, planting some perennials in your garden with your other favorites is a great idea.
Perennials are the ideal choice in Carolina to offer reliable color and life that you can depend on year after year. Once you find your favorite perennial blooms, you’ll be delighted to see them shine in your garden with every growing season, instead of popular annuals that give you one spectacular year of color before needing to be replaced. Where annuals are perfect for experimenting and trying temporary new things, perennials are a dependable source of color and excitement for your garden— and they don’t skimp on style, either.
Your perennials often can’t bloom for the whole season, so staggering your choices to offer color that is in its prime at any time of the year is ideal. Mix in some spring, summer, and fall bloomers to have something lovely in your garden at all times. For a little consistency, and the ability to hang on to the blooms you fall in love with, planting some perennials in your garden with your other favorites is a great idea.
Spring Perennials
Spring is when we simply can’t wait to get into our garden, and we love celebrating the beginning of the season with some blooms that are early to rise. In the spring, you don’t have to worry about being too bold, as anything and everything you choose to grow will be a welcome start to the warmer weather.
Creeping Phlox is a familiar ground cover plant that we’ve seen sprouting with pretty blooms just about anywhere. During their spring bloom, the plant becomes a carpet of color with flowers packed in so densely that it can be hard to see the foliage below, but for the rest of the year you’ll still be able to enjoy the bright green and dainty leaves of this plant. Grow in full sun and enjoy all of the beautiful butterflies this plant brings to your garden.
Candytuft grows with adorable globe-like blooms that look just like its namesake! While it usually blooms in white, there are also cultivars that offer shades of lilac and pink. These masses of blooms are usually the first sign of spring in our gardens, and might even bloom in late winter in milder years! Plant them in full sun and with some great drainage for the best results and be sure to trim back after the flowers are spent for gorgeous results all year.
Baptisias are also known as Indigos, which is a perfect description for their bountiful delicate blooms. Sure to create a buzz in your garden in style and with your local bees, this perennial is perfect for decorating borders with their towering indigo spikes. While shades of indigo are the most traditional, there are lots of options to choose from like white, yellow, or purple. These are the perfect Carolina substitute for Lupines that don’t thrive as much in our climate.
Creeping Phlox is a familiar ground cover plant that we’ve seen sprouting with pretty blooms just about anywhere. During their spring bloom, the plant becomes a carpet of color with flowers packed in so densely that it can be hard to see the foliage below, but for the rest of the year you’ll still be able to enjoy the bright green and dainty leaves of this plant. Grow in full sun and enjoy all of the beautiful butterflies this plant brings to your garden.
Candytuft grows with adorable globe-like blooms that look just like its namesake! While it usually blooms in white, there are also cultivars that offer shades of lilac and pink. These masses of blooms are usually the first sign of spring in our gardens, and might even bloom in late winter in milder years! Plant them in full sun and with some great drainage for the best results and be sure to trim back after the flowers are spent for gorgeous results all year.
Baptisias are also known as Indigos, which is a perfect description for their bountiful delicate blooms. Sure to create a buzz in your garden in style and with your local bees, this perennial is perfect for decorating borders with their towering indigo spikes. While shades of indigo are the most traditional, there are lots of options to choose from like white, yellow, or purple. These are the perfect Carolina substitute for Lupines that don’t thrive as much in our climate.
Summer Perennials
Summer is about vibrant colors and so don’t hold back from choosing some bold colors when planting summer perennials.
“Black Adder” Hyssops are an eye-catching way to add color and texture to the garden, with their bountiful spikes of blooms. Use these giant Hyssops as a statement in borders or in containers. While we love these blooms for their style and look, we also love their popularity with local pollinators, bringing in gorgeous butterflies all summer. Not just a pretty face, these blooms are tougher than they look and are very tolerant of drought and heat, as well as pest resistant!
“Ragin’ Cajun” Ruellias are a red-hot plant that embraces the summer heat in your garden! Low-growing, these plants have bright red blooms that are sure to dress up your containers and beds for the summer. Tough and resistant to heat, drought, and pests, these are a surefire knockout in your garden that is ready to impress.
Hummingbird Plants are also known as Firecracker plants, or their less memorable name, Dicliptera suberecta, but are mostly known for their ability to attract hummingbirds to your garden. Native to Uruguay these plants can handle anything that our summers throw at them, from heat to humidity, or even drought. The long-lasting tubular blooms in shades of coral are not only super trendy this year, but are the key to attracting all of the hummingbirds in your neighborhood.
“Black Adder” Hyssops are an eye-catching way to add color and texture to the garden, with their bountiful spikes of blooms. Use these giant Hyssops as a statement in borders or in containers. While we love these blooms for their style and look, we also love their popularity with local pollinators, bringing in gorgeous butterflies all summer. Not just a pretty face, these blooms are tougher than they look and are very tolerant of drought and heat, as well as pest resistant!
“Ragin’ Cajun” Ruellias are a red-hot plant that embraces the summer heat in your garden! Low-growing, these plants have bright red blooms that are sure to dress up your containers and beds for the summer. Tough and resistant to heat, drought, and pests, these are a surefire knockout in your garden that is ready to impress.
Hummingbird Plants are also known as Firecracker plants, or their less memorable name, Dicliptera suberecta, but are mostly known for their ability to attract hummingbirds to your garden. Native to Uruguay these plants can handle anything that our summers throw at them, from heat to humidity, or even drought. The long-lasting tubular blooms in shades of coral are not only super trendy this year, but are the key to attracting all of the hummingbirds in your neighborhood.
Fall Perennials
Fall rings the end of summer, and it is essential to have some color in your garden as the summer blooms fade away. While it’s the end of the hottest growing season of the year, it’s not the end of color and life for your garden with the right perennials in your beds and containers.
Mexican Bush Sage is the right way to cool things off in your garden for the end of the main growing season, with cool silvery foliage and delicate purple blooms around fluffy white centers. Not one to be shy though, these are a favorite with gardeners for their showiness in the fall season where their spikes can dominate a garden’s look. We love that they are hardy and easy to grow in full sun and popular with our local hummingbirds and pollinators - while discouraging pests.
“Fireworks” Goldenrod is the right way to cap off the growing season with an explosion of color. Native to North America, these flowers are sure to thrive in your garden without much help, thrilling you with their cheerful and electric yellow tones that are perfectly suited for fall. This plant thrives in full sun, so much that you’ll want to plant it far away from other plants that it might take over! We love that these colorful blooms offer lots of style and color without aggravating allergies.
Hot Lips Turtleheads offer a densely-packed aesthetic for your garden with snapdragon-like spikes or bright pink blooms that pop against dark foliage. Blooming in late summer to fall, this herbaceous plant is perfect in containers or beds, and is a perfect way to pick up the look of your sheltered and shaded areas of your yard.
Leopard Plants offer a unique look with their large leaves and yellow blooms that are the perfect way of highlighting the shaded parts of your yard. The name “Leopard plant” comes from the spotted leaves of some of the cultivars of this plant. These are perfect to grow in clusters in the garden where they can really draw the eye to what would have been secluded and shaded areas before.
Mexican Bush Sage is the right way to cool things off in your garden for the end of the main growing season, with cool silvery foliage and delicate purple blooms around fluffy white centers. Not one to be shy though, these are a favorite with gardeners for their showiness in the fall season where their spikes can dominate a garden’s look. We love that they are hardy and easy to grow in full sun and popular with our local hummingbirds and pollinators - while discouraging pests.
“Fireworks” Goldenrod is the right way to cap off the growing season with an explosion of color. Native to North America, these flowers are sure to thrive in your garden without much help, thrilling you with their cheerful and electric yellow tones that are perfectly suited for fall. This plant thrives in full sun, so much that you’ll want to plant it far away from other plants that it might take over! We love that these colorful blooms offer lots of style and color without aggravating allergies.
Hot Lips Turtleheads offer a densely-packed aesthetic for your garden with snapdragon-like spikes or bright pink blooms that pop against dark foliage. Blooming in late summer to fall, this herbaceous plant is perfect in containers or beds, and is a perfect way to pick up the look of your sheltered and shaded areas of your yard.
Leopard Plants offer a unique look with their large leaves and yellow blooms that are the perfect way of highlighting the shaded parts of your yard. The name “Leopard plant” comes from the spotted leaves of some of the cultivars of this plant. These are perfect to grow in clusters in the garden where they can really draw the eye to what would have been secluded and shaded areas before.
Winter Perennials
We’re lucky that our neighborhood of the United States has mild enough winters that our gardens don’t have to stop for part of the year shivering away under snow like the Northern states have to. Instead, we get to celebrate the coolest season in our garden with perennials!
Hellebores are often called “Lenten Roses” for their blooming season that often overlaps with the observance of Lent and Easter! These perennials are worth the investment for their long-lasting blooms that decorate your garden from February through May with rich evergreen foliage. The blooms naturally face downward, so we like to plant these in an area where they won’t be overshadowed by other foliage or blooms.
Winter Honeysuckle is more of a shrub than a perennial, but we love it’s winter blooming habit anyways. The fragrant flowers make them popular with gardeners who don’t want to let go of that warmer-season garden feel even in the coldest days of winter. These plants are hardy and thrive on some neglect, requiring almost no care at all to decorate your yard.
Perennials are the perfect plant to insert a little bit of life and personality into your yard that won’t fade with the years. With this calendar, you’ll be able to plant something with a little bit of color and interest for every day of the year, making your garden a celebration of life, no matter the season.
Hellebores are often called “Lenten Roses” for their blooming season that often overlaps with the observance of Lent and Easter! These perennials are worth the investment for their long-lasting blooms that decorate your garden from February through May with rich evergreen foliage. The blooms naturally face downward, so we like to plant these in an area where they won’t be overshadowed by other foliage or blooms.
Winter Honeysuckle is more of a shrub than a perennial, but we love it’s winter blooming habit anyways. The fragrant flowers make them popular with gardeners who don’t want to let go of that warmer-season garden feel even in the coldest days of winter. These plants are hardy and thrive on some neglect, requiring almost no care at all to decorate your yard.
Perennials are the perfect plant to insert a little bit of life and personality into your yard that won’t fade with the years. With this calendar, you’ll be able to plant something with a little bit of color and interest for every day of the year, making your garden a celebration of life, no matter the season.
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